The Gift of the Hitai-ate
by Sandtalon
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, receiving your hitai-ate was not a symbol that you had become a Genin, It was having permission to actually wear it that meant you had meant you were a Genin, a member of the Village's Shinobi Corps. Twoshot. Rated T for Safety.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi everyone! This is a one shot that is basically an exploration into story behind the Genin exams. Trying to answer questions like: Why do only three teams pass? How do the jounins agree which teams will pass? What happens to those that fail? Why are they given their hitai-ate before they actually become genin? This is written from an OC's perspective, as the the shinobi we love to read about in the manga, did not fail the genin exam. P

The story sort of got away from me for a bit, but I think it captures what I am trying to say. Reviews are welcome and encouraged, please let me know what you think or how I can improve!

**Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, it is the intellectual property of Kishimoto. The cover photo was obtained from Naruto Wikia and is a screenshot of the anime, it also does not belong to me and is the property of Kishimoto. I am using the image, under what I also believe is the fair-use policy.

* * *

_Konoha is evil isn't it? _Osamu sighed as he took his usual seat the still deserted classroom. _They give us what we most want, but refuse to let us use it, using it instead as a carrot that we, the rabbits, run faster to achieve._

Contrary to popular belief, receiving your hitai-ate was not a symbol that you had become a Genin, It was having permission to actually wear it that meant you had finally become a part of the village's Shinobi Corps.

Osamu was proof of that himself. His most prized possession, his hitai-ate, was sitting in his room barely worn and picking up dust (a figure of speech of course, Osamu made sure to keep it in pristine condition).

Day after day it sat on his desk, reminding Osamu of his goal, of the things he still had to learn before finally being allowed to use it, before becoming an official shinobi.

_The cruelest part is the false sense of accomplishment that they gave us, letting us thinks we were genin, only to reveal that it wasn't true. _Osamu had been allowed to wear his hitai-ate for three days before having the permission stricken away.

The first day, when he passed the Academy's portion of the genin test, and he thought that he had finally accomplished his goal. The second day, was when they had been assigned to teams and met the jounin who would have become their commander and sensei.

_The third day_, Osamu smiled a little at the bitter memory, _was when I realized that it wasn't true, that as academy students, had been hopelessly naïve and that there was a conspiracy in Konoha to keep the illusion of the common twelve year old genin alive._

It had come as a shock to Osamu's team, when after evaluating their skills with weapons and with a light spar amongst each other, the jounin had told them that they had to undertake the second part of the genin exam, and if they failed it, they would have to go back to the academy for at least another year.

\- _Flashback -_

_ Osamu growled under his breath as he retrieved his weapons from the target where they had been demonstrating their skills in order to prepare for the second part of the exam._

_ He hadn't been the strongest student in his class, but he had done well enough. He had trained hard to master what the academy had taught them and to become a genin. Now it seemed that yesterday had been a lie, that he still wasn't a genin. _

_ He assumed his teammates didn't know about the second portion of the exam either, seeing as they were just as shocked as he was at the jounin's announcement._

_ At least, he thought, that explained his parents reaction, or lack of, to the announcement the day he received his hiai-ate. They had congratulated him on passing the academy exam and earning his hitai-ate but had not really congratulated him on becoming a genin. His mother hadn't even given him a speech on the new responsibilities his rank would take him, which was something that had greatly surprised him at the time, now he understood. That hadn't happened because he WASN'T a genin yet. _

_ Osamu turned back to the jounin, determined to do his best to pass the exam and finally become a genin_

_ \- End Flashback -_

Osamu thought back to the exam, he remembered it vividly, as it had only occurred a couple months prior. Perhaps the hardest part about the exam was that his team wasn't told if they passed or failed right after the exam. Instead, the jounin had left them panting and sprawled on the training ground with orders to meet again that night where he would let them know the results.

From what he heard, most of the other teams had the same wait, even the ones that had passed. In fact, rumor had it, that all the teams that didn't have to wait for the results had failed except for one.

It made sense, Osamu supposed, that if only three teams were to pass, then the jounin would have to confer with each other and the Hokage to decide who the teams would be. As for those that didn't have to wait for the results, they must have not performed to the jounin's expectations and failed right out.

As for that team that did pass and didn't have to wait… rumor had it that it was led by the great Hatake Kakashi, someone who had not passed a single team, Osamu guessed, that if Hatake-sama had seen them fit to pass, there would be no objections from the Hokage or the other jounin.

Their would-be jounin sensei had met up with them that night and broken the news of their of failure to them, and explained that they were not allowed to wear the hitai-ate, anymore, not until they achieved the rank of genin.

The jounin had explained the story and reasoning behind the exam they had just taken. Under tentative times of peace (they were living in a shinobi world after all), Konoha was willing to let their children be children for even a little longer, before they were thrown into a merciless world. In fact, in present times it wasn't until the age of fifteen that most shinobi became genin.

Of course, that didn't apply to all of Konoha's children. If a prodigies of the like of Hatake-sama were to appear, they would not be given this reprieve, and neither were the three teams who passed the exam. Peace or not, they were tools that Konoha needed.

Those selected teams would be taken under the supervision and care of the jounin assigned to be their senseis and their commanding officers. They would finish their training under the jounin while gaining valuable field experience and would be able to serve the village when they were needed.

Why this was confidential information that couldn't reach the ears of the younger Academy students, Osamu didn't really understand, but alas orders were orders. And although he was still considered a civilian, living in a shinobi village meant that if you were told to keep your mouth shut, it was the best idea to do so.

* * *

Osamu groaned as the sensei read out the assignments for the class. They were supposed to team up with two other students who they hadn't recently worked together with, and go out to help some villagers who had requested aid. It was basically the equivalent of the genin's D-Rank mission, except unlike genin who got their monthly wages for service to the village; the academy students didn't get anything… well except not failing.

These assignments were given to the academy students to allow them to improve their teamwork with one another, partnering them up in a way that everyone worked with everyone enough to establish a normal working relationship. The three-man teams that they had been split to at the end of the first stage of the academy, when they had earned their hitai-ate, had been disbanded, upon entrance to the second stage of the academy. Of course, the assignments also existed to free up the shinobi of the village, so those shinobi who were qualified to do more, could be used more efficiently than doing D-ranks

_I don't mind it much_ Osamu thought_ but it would be nice to have a stable team, and to be able to take actual missions. The genin our age don't have the same amount of restrictions on missions. At least they are allowed to leave the village and Fire county while we aren't allowed to, even to places still within Fire Country._

It was obvious that Osamu hadn't actually seen the rookie genin teams complete their missions because he rolled his eyes thinking _I bet they don't have their senseis following them around while they weed gardens, like our senseis._

At least those assignments (or simulated missions) only took place in the morning portions of the Academy when they had class with their year mates. The afternoon structure changed to allow greater individual focus, covering things such as chakra control and taijutsu and other ninja arts. The academy provided good training for the future shinobi allowing them to successfully join teams led by chuunin or jounin when they did become genin.

Although the hitai-ate was a source of cruel motivation, as the higher-ups were surely aware, it was also a message. It was a message to the second-stage academy students that the village recognized their strength and saw them as the future of the corp, of the village itself. Leaving the academy now, giving up on their shinobi dreams, would mean they would have to return the hitai-ate that many held as their most prized possession, and that was enough to keep many going

Osamu grinned at the announcement after the assignments had been given out. There was going to be a festival celebrating the chuunin exam that would soon be held here. To allow the students to enjoy it, the afternoon classes had been cancelled.

He and his friends had been hoping that they would be and had made plans if they were, but they hadn't been too sure, it seemed like they would work out perfectly! If they hurried up and finished their chores (or assignments as the academy liked to disguise them) then they could hang out a bit before then too.

* * *

Osamu and his friends were having a pretty good time in the festival. They were currently hanging out in some of the travelling merchant's stalls looking at the foreign wares with awe. His mother had given him some money to spend during the festival, and he was thinking of maybe buying her a penchant of some sort, since she was unable to come and enjoy the festival, being on duty.

_We're under attack!_ Osamu looked around frantically as kunai flew around the stall he had been visiting. _How did enemy shinobi infiltrate the village?! It shouldn't be possible!_

Osamu panicked. How was he supposed to react? He wasn't wearing his training gear, and didn't have any weapons on him. Even if he did have supplies, he had never been in actual combat, and he had no idea where the kunai had come from. _ What am I supposed to do?_

Osamu gasped as three figures materialized in front of him, deflecting a few kunai had been coming straight to the stall. Looking up at those that saved him, Osamu realized that they were shinobi. He recognized them from the academy. They were a year older than him. He had played with them a few times before they had graduated. He knew they were one of the three teams that had become genin last year.

Eyes widening in realization, Osamu knew what he had to do, he picked up a few of the kunai that had been thrown, and prepared to join the genin. He had to help them!

Osamu started when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, stopping him from joining the fight and looked back to see an unknown Konoha jounin. _When did he get here? I didn't even feel him appear behind me!_

"You're a second-stage student at the academy, right, Osamu-kun?" The jounin asked in a friendly voice, ignoring the commotion that was going on in front of them.

"Yes, ma'am." Osamu nodded, idly wondering how the jounin knew his name.

"Well then, Osamu-kun, do me a favor, you and your friends lead this poor merchant to that shop over there, while we deal with this." The jounin pointed behind him, behind the stall to an open store where there seemed to civilians hiding, with a few shinobi stationed little ways from it, ready to spring to action to protect it.

"…Yes, ma'am." He had wanted to help and join the fight, but it seemed he would not be allowed to. He was after all, not a shinobi. Not yet. And if he was honest with himself, the clothing he was wearing would restrict his movements and negatively affect his abilities. Taking the shocked merchant's hand, who had frozen when the first batch of kunai had been thrown, he supposed the best he could do was to make sure that the he at least got to safely.

In the store, the pure civilians stayed further back, away from the entrances, while academy students of all ages remained closer to the front of the shop, ready to act at least as barrier of defence.

Osamu stayed closer to the door than the others, positioned so he could look at the commotion happening outside. From what he could tell, it was an isolated incident, there were a couple of shinobi guarding the shop they were bunkered down, and a few forming a perimeter in the area, but further down the road he could see the festival going on uninterrupted.

"Sensei!" the genin's shout brought Osamu's attention back to the team that had saved him. It seemed that whoever had been attacking had been pressured to appear.

There were three assailants facing off the young genin. From what he could see, he guessed that the assailants, while they could wield kunai, were not shinobi. They did not stand or hold themselves like shinobi. Osuma guessed that the three were simply robbers that snuck in with a merchant caravan for the festival and decided to steal from a few stalls before making their getaway. They couldn't be very _good_ robbers though, because anyone who attacks people and attempts to steal in a festival taking place in the middle of a shinobi village, was just asking to get caught and arrested, which was no doubt what would be taking place here soon.

_I wish I was been allowed to help them!_ Osamu thought staring longingly at the battle, he wanted to be a genin already! He appreciated the village looking out for its children, but he wasn't one anymore! He wanted to start his career already!

Outside, the genin asked the jounin a question, to which the jounin offered a curt reply, shaking her head. Osamu couldn't really hear the question, but as they nodded their sensei's response, he did notice a grim but unreadable look that quickly flashed into one of the genin's face before it quickly disappeared back to the emotionless mask they had donned.

Osamu didn't pay much attention to the grim look though, as he realized that the genin's stances had shifted to be more offensive instead of defensive. With the civilians out of the way, and the assailants standing in front of them, no doubt underestimating the young shinobi, they were finally going to get serious.

_I wonder how they are going to arrest them? Maybe knock them out? Or time them down?_ Osamu wondered watching the scene unfold in front of him.

He was completely unprepared for what he witnessed next.

The genin team moved as one, quickly, too quickly for the assailants to follow and realize they were being attacked until it was too late. Within seconds, the genin were in front of them. Within seconds, each assailant had crumpled to the ground, hands uselessly clutching at the throats that had been cleanly slit. They stopped moving soon after that.

The jounin neared the bodies, checking to make sure the job had been done. Satisfied she nodded at her students and said something, to which the genin once more nodded, and began picking up the weapons the littered the floor, as if they had just finish a training match, as if they hadn't just killed.

The jounin picked up one of the corpses, and was joined by two others who picked up the other two. Looking at the shop, where the civilians had been herded to, she made eye contact with Osamu, offering a sad smile before she and the others disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Osamu had been frozen in place while this occurred. It hadn't been longer than a minute or two, but now it looked as if nothing had even happened. The genin team was gone, no weapons were left behind, the blood that hit the ground had been quickly buried, and the other shinobi went back patrolling through the rooftops.

The road quickly filled with people, including those exiting the shop as if nothing had major had happened. _Because they don't know what happened, they didn't see anything happen, everyone was in the shop, and the only one who had a view of the outs_ide _was _me. Osamu's limbs finally unfroze and as they did, he sprinted away from the road and towards home as fast as he could, forgetting the friends he had come to the festival with

Quickly shutting the door of his room behind him, Osamu couldn't help it any longer, and he threw up the contents of his stomach. It wasn't enough though, as a cold sweat enveloped him and he continued dry heaving when there was nothing else for him to expel.

Children that he had played with just a year ago, had without hesitation taken a life and acted as if it was the most common thing in the world. _How is that even possible? Why did they have to do that? Why not just restrain them? How could they kill, and just not be affected!? They're still children, barely a year older than I am!_

Realization dawned on Osamu, as he remembered the grim look that had crossed one of the genin's faces. It had _acceptance._ Acceptance of what they had to do, acceptance of their duty, acceptance of the responsibility that wearing the hitai-ate entailed Acceptance that of their responsibility as shinobi of Konohagakure,

Looking at the hitai-ate sitting on his desk, Osamu finally understood what the jounin had been trying to tell him a few months ago, as he scowled at the prospect of not being allowed to wear the hitai-ate, of not being a genin yet.

Each year, the chosen 'rookie nine' as the three genin teams were called, were sharpened and fine tuned into the strongest weapons they could be. Although they might be twelve-years old, they were not children. They were shinobi tasked with the protection of Konoha and its citizens.

Those who weren't part of the rookie nine, those who became second-stage academy students, those students were given a gift by the village, the gift of being able play or go out to things such as festivals only caring about what fun they could have, without having to worry about hidden weapons or appropriate clothes, the gift of not having to worry about ambushes by other shinobi during their assignments, the gift of not having to accept and carry out the death of others before they had even grown all of their teeth.

They were given the gift of a longer and more normal childhood. It was a gift that could only be given because of the tentative peace, and was only possible because each year, there were nine people whose childhood's were cut short.

Osamu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gripped his hitai-ate tightly, looking at himself through the reflection and the leaf symbol.

The genin he had seen in action, were not the children he had played with a year ago. When they put on their hitai-ate they became shinobi and sacrificed many things for the good of the village and its people.

Osamu would honor that sacrifice. He was grateful for the gift of childhood that they enabled to him to have, and would enjoy it as much as he could, he owed that to them, who weren't able to have their own childhood. He would work and train hard, so that when the time came that he was allowed wear his hitai-ate, when he became a shinobi of Konohagakure, he would defend his village, the villagers within.

Osamu would protect the peace so that others may receive the same gift he received, when he was first given his hitai-ate, but not the permission to wear it.

* * *

**A/N:** So.. what did you think? Please let me know! I'm curious as to what others think happen with those who do not form part of the rookie nine.


	2. Growing Up

**A/N:** After a conversation with _PaigeHerbie,_ I realized that there was still at least one more thing to tell about Osamu's story and to explore about the second-stage academy . Thank you for reading the story so far, I would really appreciate any reviews you might leave. There's a couple of extra things in the author's note at the end about my thoughts regarding second-stage academy students.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me.

* * *

Osamu stared at his reflection in the mirror, proud and satisfied.

He had recently purchased new gear. The dark blue shirt and black pants suited him well, and had various hidden pockets that he found to be very useful. His new weapon's pouch, slightly larger than his old one, had new shuriken and kunai that he bought to replenish the ones that had gotten too damaged with training. The pouch also held some containment scrolls filled with different weapons he had gained proficiency in using. He was no weapon master, but he had become skilled in different weapons in the past of couple years.

The new gear was great, Osamu decided, but it wasn't the clothes that he liked best about his new look. No, the best part was the hitai-ate firmly secured on his forehead, which proudly displayed the leaf symbol.

It had been a month since he begun training with his current team, still led by the temporary jounin commander each team received after leaving the academy. In a sense, the jounin commander was the team's sensei, but in a different way that the twelve-year old genin team's jounin sensei.

Osamu and his yearmates had covered concepts such as leaf and water walking that a jounin-sensei would have been responsible for teaching their twelve-year old genin teams in the Academy. Just because they hadn't been called to defend the village or to serve it in missions didn't mean they stopped training, or that their training had been light. After all, it was the academy's purpose was to give its students the tools and training needed to become powerful shinobi of the Leaf.

Osamu remembered the night he realized the gift he had been given. He had been grateful to receive the opportunity for a (semi)-normal and extended childhood not marred by other's deaths at his hands or combat.

The understanding of the gift had been made especially clear a few week later, when the Sand had invaded Konoha, and while Osamu and his classmates had to help with the evacuation before entering the shelter themselves, they were spared from the fighting.

Now…. Now it was his turn to don the hitai-ate, his turn to join the ranks of shinobi that defended the village. He was doing it a bit early, compared to most, having recently turned fourteen. There were various ways to become a genin after you were a student in the second stage of the academy, and age was not the only or biggest factor involved in ihe process.

One way, was as a replacement for an already existing team. If a genin from one of the original three teams died, for example, it was common to replace them with someone from their age or from their old class. The thought being that it would be easier for someone who was at least somewhat familiar with the original team members to adapt. This only happened when someone died of course, and it wasn't the normal way of becoming a genin

Every so often, those students who were deemed ready by the academy senseis, both skill-wise and with emotionally development, would be formed into teams. They'd undergo another test under a jounin commander, and if they passed, they'd be under his command for a few months gaining valuable experience, before becoming a fully functional three-man team that was able to be dispatched to different chuunin and jounin commanders. Often, the genin teams received a chuunin (less often jounin) team leader who they would serve under.

They would still sort of be under the supervision of a jounin, who would meet them every couple of weeks or so to evaluate anything they needed, and who would recommend and sponsor the genin for the chuunin exams, and provide the guidance and training needed throughout the exam.

Due to the flexibility of the academy, the temas that were formed were not necessarily with your yearmates, but could be with those who were a few years older or younger. Being selected for a team for the genin exam was based on the sensei's observation of your skills and emotional development.

Although most shinobi became genin at the age of fifteen, since it was based on skill and emotional development, there were those who were assigned to teams younger or older. Osamu 's new teammates for example were fifteen and seventeen years old and rumor had it, that the person who would be assigned to be their regular chuunin team leader, had become a genin at fifteen, a recent chuunin at seventeen, and was predicted to be participate in the jounin exams in a few years.

Osamu might have been young at becoming a genin, but he was ready. He understood, he appreciated the gift that he had been given. At twelve, he was still a child that the village needed to protect. He had not understood the world he was living in.

Now, at the age of fourteen, Osamu would admit he was still a child. However, as he proudly wore the hitai-ate, he was a child who was finally ready to become an adult, to join the ranks of shinobi, and protect the village he held so dear to his heart.

Casting a last glance at his reflection, gaze lingering at the hitai-ate on his forehead, Osamu jumped out his bedroom window heading to join his team.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there it is.. Osamu's journey to becoming a shinobi, please let me know what you think!

Something I'm not sure I conveyed very well in the story is the importance of second-stage academy students to the village. The second-stage academy students are by no means weak. Sure, when the common student becomes a genin at the age of fifteen, they are not as strong as their former classmates who became genin at the age 12. A lot of that has to do, however, with the difference in experience. By the time an average fifteen year old becomes a genin, his former classmates have had three years of experience.

In these past, graduating at the age of twelve was more common, but in times of peace and after the kyuubi attack, Konoha started extending the formal education before officially adopting the younger generations into the corps. Becoming a genin at fifteen was considered common, and did not mean that those that did were destined to become career genin or even career chuunin. There were extremely talented shinobi that graduated at fifteen and became jounin.

The twelve year old genin is a conspiracy that is fed by Konoha, for reasons that many don't really understand. In one way, it keeps the academy students to be striving to be as strong as they can be. The second-stage academy were for all effects and purposes, entry genin-level in terms of strength. Konoha just felt that they could still grow stronger with formal education without having to expose all of them to a merciless world.


End file.
